The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to a connector used for making an electrical connection through a wall.
A connector disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application (Kokai) No. Sho 63-211577 is known for connection through a wall.
Such a connector is useful in making an electrical connection across a metal wall, and is retained by staking a portion of the wall into a recess of the connector. This type of connector is disadvantageous when considering modern materials and manufacturing techniques.
In particular, because a portion of the wall is bent for engagement with a recess of the connector, it has had to be formed from a metal material which does not recover when deformed, and which is able to retain its strength sufficiently in the deformed state. Materials, such as resins, which are difficult to bend into shape and in which the material itself has reduced strength are therefore inappropriate. Objects made from the resin are beginning to be demanded, in petrol tanks in particular, but it has not been possible to use the conventional connector arrangement for such resin articles.
Furthermore, the known staking operation requires a substantial force, and it has therefore not been possible to perform this operation without tools. The high forces involved may also lead to damage of components if they are not in the required angular orientation.
The present invention has taken the above problems into account and it aims to provide a connector with increased freedom of materials, and can thus be used with resin components or the like. In particular the invention does not require substantial assembly force and can improve the ease of assembly.